- Thule was first described by Pytheas in c.330 BCE and was considered by the Ancient World as the most northerly known point on Earth.
- Eratosthenes named the Parallel of Latitude at 66° N as the Parallel of Thule.
Location
- The location of Thule has never been confirmed.
- It could be either the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland or even Scandinavia.
Sources
- Pytheas (c. 330 BCE)
- The Greek Explorer first recorded Thule in his Travels around Britain sometime between 330-300 BCE.
- He wrote ‘On the Ocean’ (now Lost). In this Work he wrote about Thule, along with the midnight sun, ice on the sea, the Tides being caused by the Moon and the Germanic Tribes.
- Eratosthenes (c.275-195 BCE)
- He located the Parallel of Thule as being at 66 Degrees North.
- Tacitus (56-120 CE)
- He mentions Thule in his Work ‘On the Life and Character of Julius Agricola’.
- Tacitus states that when Agricola occupied northern Britannia, his ships discovered and occupied the Orkney Islands and located Thule but did not land there.
- Ptolemy (90-168 CE)
- He mentions Thule in his ‘Geographia’.
- Ptolemy describes the Parallel of Thule as being at 63 degrees N, and not at 66 degrees North as described by Eratosthenes.
- Ptolemy places Thule on his map to the north of the Orkney Islands, making it possibly the Shetland Islands or Iceland.
Shetland Islands, Thule?